Back to Earth
| Cat Stevens
Back to Earth
Back to Earth is the eleventh studio album released by the British singer/songwriter Cat Stevens. It's the only album he recorded using the name Cat Stevens after his conversion to Islam in December 1977 (until the release almost 40 years later (in September 2017) of The Laughing Apple, his fifteenth studio album credited to "Cat Stevens/Yusuf"). It was also the last album of contemporary western music that he recorded until An Other Cup, nearly 30 years later.-wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
For one thing, the sound and arrangements are attractively muscular, and nowhere more so than in “Bad Brakes,” an exciting if uncharacteristic exercise in power-chord rock. Elsewhere, Stevens’ trademark, guitar-led syncopation and unpredictable melody making are gratifyingly in evidence.
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All Music
It's doubtful that Back to Earth could have re-established Cat Stevens even if he had been willing and able to promote it. As it is, the album serves as a satisfying coda to his pop career.
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Vents Magazine
Long overdue for re-evaluation, Back To Earth is a brilliant and fascinating album capturing Yusuf/Cat Stevens at a defining point in his life.
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Catstevens.com
The album’s lyrics make a number of references to Cat/Yusuf’s dissatisfaction with the industry, however, there are also some small hints of the return that would keep fans waiting for nearly three decades.
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CBS News
The content of the album reflected a more melancholy, spiritual side, as well as bitterness about the music industry.
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Americana UK
It was an album influenced by Yusuf’s newly discovered belief in Islam. There are many intriguing messages in the songs and lyrics of this album.
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Rock NYC
Back To Earth is an essential landmark in Cat’s career and upon its original release the album received rave reviews. Billboard applauded its “tender, folksy ballads [and] up-tempo and spirited pop tunes”, Hot Press hailed it as “a lush and intricately woven tapestry of fine melodies…really a return to form.”
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The Second Disk
So, what better to put listeners in a state of good cheer than the news of a grand Cat Stevens reissue of a classic album? The resulting collection was largely a return to the acoustic-driven numbers for which Stevens had become popular earlier in the decade.
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Music Tap
Back To Earth didn’t chart as well as a Cat Stevens album would be expected to chart. But that doesn’t dismiss the charm of the album. But without a single and an accompanying support tour, the album appealed only to his fan base.
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Steve Hoffman
Upon its original release, Back To Earth received rave reviews. “Cat has come up with the kind of quality album that originally made him a superstar,” declared the London Evening News. “Just one knockout song after another.” Billboard meanwhile applauded the album’s “tender, folksy ballads [and] up-tempo and spirited pop tunes”. Hot Press hailed it as “a lush and intricately woven tapestry of fine melodies…really a return to form.”
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Musick Stack
The most conclusive thing to be said about Back to Earth is that it neither disappoints nor completely satisfies.
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Stereogum
Recorded quickly, and released with no promotion from Yusuf Islam (still credited as Cat Stevens on the album), Back To Earth fared poorly in the marketplace.
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